Telstra Plans 5G Trial At 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games

Telstra will use the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast to test new 5G wireless technology in partnership with Ericsson.

In what could be a world-first, Telstra is planning to test 5G networks for the entirety of the event, held from April 4-15 next year.

Telstra CEO Andy Penn attended CES last week as part of the company’s push to become a “world-class technology company”, with discussions between Telstra and companies like Google and Microsoft critical in bringing 5G to Australia as quickly as possible.

“Australians are very early adopters of technology and we also play a key role in being at the forefront of the development of global standards,” Mr Penn told News.com.au.

“We were around 3G, we were around 4G, and we will be around 5G. It’s important those global standards take into consideration the peculiarities of the Australian market,” Mr Penn added.

Tests conducted by Telstra and Ericsson last year delivered download speeds of up to 20 gigabits per second to smartphones with significantly lower latency than 4G technology, allowing for improved performance in applications such as autonomous driving and virtual reality.

As part of the company’s testing, Telstra has contributed to international 5G industry standards, which will see 5G become “the first technology that comes to us ready for Australian conditions,” according to Telstra networks group managing director Mike Wright.

A wider rollout of 5G technology is not expected to occur before 2020.